FORMER Umno strongman Salleh Said Keruak is not yet a PKR member, said party president Anwar Ibrahim, although his application was “accepted”.

“His application has been accepted, but it has not been discussed at a PKR leadership meeting,” Anwar said after a Pakatan Harapan lawmakers’ retreat in Saujana Subang, Selangor, this evening.

Once a loyalist of former prime minister Najib Razak, Salleh’s PKR membership application was marked “approved” on the party website.

It showed that he applied to join PKR on August 25. 

Earlier today, Salleh had said on his blog that PKR’s multicultural nature and what it stands for were among the reasons for former Sabah Umno leaders joining the party.

He said his aim was to assist PKR in bringing about progressive, multiracial and progressive politics that prioritised stability and simplicity, especially in Sabah.

“In the context of race-based politics and extremists that can threaten the country’s unity and stability today, I believe PKR is on the right track to save the country from the catastrophe of extremism,” he had said.

Salleh and former Dewan Rakyat speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia were among five MPs, nine assemblymen and 21 division heads from Sabah Umno who abandoned the Barisan Nasional lynchpin late last year.

Salleh was briefly Sabah chief minister in the 1990s. In the 14th general election last year, he contested the Kota Belud parliamentary seat for BN but lost to his cousin, Warisan’s Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis, who is now deputy energy, science, technology, environment and climate change minister.

Last month, Salleh said he backed PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to become the next prime minister. – October 6, 2019.